THE LAST EVER ISSUE

Short List
TitleTHE LAST EVER ISSUE
BrandGAZETA.PL, BNP PARIBAS, MASTERCARD
Product/ServiceTHE LAST EVER ISSUE
Category A05. Media / Entertainment
Entrant WAVEMAKER Warsaw, POLAND
Idea Creation VMLY&R POLAND Warsaw, POLAND
Media Placement WAVEMAKER Warsaw, POLAND
PR WAVEMAKER Warsaw, POLAND
PR 2 VMLY&R POLAND Warsaw, POLAND
PR 3 FUNDACJA SUKCESU PISANEGO SZMINKA Warsaw, POLAND
Production VMLY&R POLAND Warsaw, POLAND
Production 2 PAPAYA FILMS Warsaw, POLAND
Credits
Name Company Position
Dawid Szczepaniak VMLY&R Executive Creative Director
Maciej Kozina VMLY&R Associate Creative Director
Daniel Przygoda Wavemaker Creative Head
Julia Szostak Wavemaker Creative Head
Urszula Mazur VMLY&R Account Manager
Anna Kwiatkowska VMLY&R Account Director
Gocha Adamczyk VMLY&R Senior Strategy Planner
Ewelina Wojtyczka VMLY&R Art Director
Adam Smereczynski VMLY&R Associate Creative Director
Michal Wolniak VMLY&R President
Joanna Adamkiewicz-Wolniak VMLY&R Board
Lukasz Majewski VMLY&R PR Director
Rafal Nalewajski VMLY&R Influencer Lead
Tomasz Szkodzinski VMLY&R Design Director
Pawel Szczygiel VMLY&R Senior Art Director
Wiktoria Belz VMLY&R UX designer
Katarzyna Rychowiecka Wavemaker Junior Copywriter
Inez Ali Wavemaker Social Media & Content Specialist
Maria Jeppson Wavemaker Media Partnerships & Junior Content Specialist
Edyta Werpachowska Wavemaker Integrated Communication Manager
Andrzej Suhov Wavamaker Paid Social Leader
Emil Tumilowicz Wavemaker Head of Content
Aleksander Kropidlowski VMLY&R director
Lukasz Siewiorek VMLY&R project manager
Weronika Lawniczak Papaya Films Photographer
Daniel Jaroszek Papaya Films Photographer
Paula Patocka Papaya Films Photographer
Malgorzata Popinigis Papaya Films Photographer
Kacper Sawicki Papaya Films Executive Producer
Ewa Kurzava Papaya Films Producer
Marzena Szkolak Gazeta.pl Lead Editor
Magdalena Karpinska Gazeta.pl Lead Editor
Bozena Kowalkowska Gazeta.pl Editorial Project Manager
Michal Rutkowski Gazeta.pl Marketing Director
Zuza Krajewska N/A Photographer
Olga Kozierowska Sukces Pisany Szminka CEO
Dagny Kurdwanowska Sukces Pisany Szminka NGO member
Olga Kolakowska Gazeta.pl Editorial Team
Anna Budynska Gazeta.pl Editorial Team
Olga Legosz Sukces Pisany Szminka NGO member
Dariusz Maciolek BNP Paribas Marketing Director
Joanna Blaszczyk BNP Paribas Marketing Manager
Malgorzata Witkowska BNP Paribas Marketing Manager
Marta Zycinska Mastercard Marketing Director
Pawel Kotowski Mastercard Client
Anna Marciniak Mastercard Client
Malgorzata Szczerbinska Mastercard Client
Rafal Cieciura VMLY&R DTP Manager
Natalia Makowska Solski PR PR Manager
Malgorzata Nierodzinska Creative Shop, Facebook Creative Strategist Facebook EMEA
Claudio Barreto Creative Shop, Facebook Creative Strategist Facebook EMEA
Edyta Kotowicz Creative Shop, Facebook Creative Strategist Facebook EMEA
Debbi Vandeven VMLY&R Global Chief Creative Officer
Lauren Lafranz VMLY&R Managing Director, Global Creative Operations
Claire Charruau VMLY&R Marketing Director
Jaime Mandelbaum VMLY&R Chief Creative Officer
Saul Betmead VMLY&R Chief Strategy Officer
Sunil Nair Creative Shop, Facebook Creative Shop, Facebook

Why is this work relevant for Media?

Having big partners on our side we could just make another huge media campaign. But changing people’s perception requires something more. So instead we made a bold and eye catching move - we bought the oldest, iconic Polish porn magazine “Your Weekend” to close it by publishing its very last issue in history. Instead of the usual porn content, we focused on issues of sexism, misogyny, gender portrayal and equality. “The Last Ever Issue” proved that even though press is becoming less relevant, it is still possible to harness the power of the medium in an impactful way.

Background

Poland is a country where women earn 18,5% less than men, we do not have effective system solutions preventing discrimination, kids at school do not get equality education, everyday sexism in public space is still socially acceptable. We are a conservative society which objectifies and marginalizes women. Even for the westernized liberal Polish middle class gender inequality is an abstract problem. Gazeta.pl, is a liberal news portal. It is brand which builds its credibility by social engagement - it is a portal which starts mass discussions about significant social topics. The role of engaged liberal media in time of far-right, anti-women government should be bold and brave. We had to start a serious mass discussion about sexism and gender inequalities. Mastercard and BNP Paribas were ideal partners as they have a long-term commitment of empowering women.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

For 27 years, “Your Weekend” – one of Poland's longest-running and most read adult magazine - reduced women to sex objects. In December 2018, when it was up for sale, we bought it immediately. And used it to challenge the culture of sexism and gender inequality it had contributed to building. We transformed “Your Weekend” in a conversation-sparking, ground-breaking magazine promoting diverse and progressive narratives of femininity. We teamed up Gazeta.pl, our client and leading Polish news portal, with Mastercard and BNP Paribas, two brands with a long-term commitment to empower women, to create this last issue. We published it on International Women’s Day. We kept the regular sections and columns but reimagined the content around sexual education, gender portrayal, equal rights, sexism and more. It was the symbolic end of an era and a spectacular beginning for a much-needed national conversation.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The main assumption was to make the topic mainstream. That is why we have decided to target the campaign to the average middle class in Poland. People we wanted to engage were not rejecting the topic, but thought that it is the issue which doesn’t affect them. We didn’t want to judge anyone or to instruct. The thing was to show the perspective of women. And by that to make people realize that we all live in a society which is not equal. Our primary target audience were middle-class men who were brought up on the magazine’s biased portrayal of women. Target Group and our willingness to ignite natiowide conversation about the problem made media planning focus on digital and social media. Gazeta.pl, Mastercard, BNP Paribas and Twój Weekend primarily used their own social media channels. The campaign was also supported by OOH, radio and cinemas (all owned by gazeta.pl).

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The campaign consisted of two essential parts: A teaser campaign a week before the launch created excitement about the magazine’s last issue. Nationwide offline and online sales were launched on International Women’s Day. Gazeta.pl sold “The Last Ever Issue” through their publisher’s distribution networks such as Empik (a chain of 200+ bookstores), Relay/Inmedio/1 Minute (chain of 1000+ newsagents/convenience stores), publio.pl and kulturalnysklep.pl (online platforms owned by the publisher). Sales were supported by an integrated campaign including OOH, cinemas, radio, social media and PR. 100+ copies of the magazine were sent out to journalists and influencers which ignited a fierce social media debate. Both Mastercard and BNP Paribas amplified the campaign in their social media channels. A content section was created at gazeta.pl. It publishes content related to sexism, equality and gender portrayal. This content is redistributed through the media channels of what used to be an objectifying adult magazine.

List the results (30% of vote)

Our most impressive result is... 0. That’s the exact amount of impressions of “Your Weekend’s” objectifying content since 08/03/2019. The campaign organically reached 4.5M people and generated 25M media impressions (Poland’s adult population is c.a. 28M) according to media monitoring services. “The Last Ever Issue” content generated 500k+ visits to gazeta.pl - a 50% increase in their daily traffic. The campaign was mentioned by Poland’s most influential TV shows “Pytanie na Śniadanie” and “Szkło Kontaktowe”. It was even featured as the main story on gazeta.pl’s biggest competitor’s news site - onet.pl. The online edition of the magazine was the best selling e-magazine in Poland of March 2019 (although readership of e-magazines in Poland is still in its infancy). Projected offline sales make it the best selling issue of “Your Weekend” in 10 years. But most of all, we transformed a vehicle for objectifying women into a platform for gender equality.